“1984” was a fiction written by George Orwell, which was a dystopian fiction about a regime with totalitarian control and surveillance of the masses. Although, Orwell had Stalinist and Nazi German states in his mind when he drafted his writing. But, if he would have seen the state of affairs today, he might have felt an air of pride in his imaginative eye, which had foreseen a future in the making, where the state tries to keep absolute control over the public through asserted control.
Democracy in Pakistan has always been kept under the shadow of dictatorial roots. In fact, what is being observable throughout the authoritative rule, is that political parties have always been trying to keep things under the shadow of their own controls. So, these political parties, regardless of their “ABC names” are often labeled to be dictatorial along sides with their oligarchical, dynastocratic, and plutocratic normalization. Since the ruling party has come into power, polarization in Pakistani politics has become more evident. Here, things are either black or white. Either, you are with the group of self-proclaimed “righteous” or the “wrongdoers”. There is no middle ground in between. This results in polarized opinion among the masses, thanks to the narrative shaping machinery inside the state for creating a dialectic between “black and white”.
Since the ruling party has taken the helm of affairs. Many coercive measures have been taken against the public opinion-makers, who are dissidents of the ruling party. Initially, we have seen that political parties have used state institutions to assert their control. But, now, things have gone far beyond. Now, we are witnessing even use of coercive measures like the use of threats and in some cases, even, violence against the opinion-makers and journalists.
In past, dictators have tried to keep dissidents at bay. Zia’s rule run through windows of memory when dissident poets and writers of the left-wing, like Habib Jalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and even adorable Ahmed Faraz were being thrown behind the bars for speaking against the authoritative rule. It is also not a hidden secret that most of the frontline political leadership has remained under the influence of dictators and they have started their political careers under the patronage of those dictators. So, without any doubt, their style of governing is largely inspired by their patrons and bosses. And, history has seen that the dissidents have always gained the sympathy of the masses. So, a leaf needs to be taken out of the book of history.
Civil liberties like freedom of speech are largely curtailed by the iron hand which comes with the power. And, in real politik opposition is hardly borne, as the ultimate aim is the attainment of absolute power. So, the same practices, despite having democratic regimes and relatively stronger political institutions have been observed. In fact, nations shall learn from the mistakes of their past. The ruling party must realize that their efforts to deter counter-opinion will only strengthen their adversary. Imran Khan has become even more popular, thanks to inefficient and outdated practical jokes being made by the ruling alliance. This also indicates lower wits of the leadership, which could hardly realize that it is impossible to control public opinion through coercive means in the age of the digital and social media revolution. On contrary, their moves are tactically backfiring, as it provides more oxygen to the fire which had once become cold. And their adversary has become even stronger.
If tactical advice needs to be given to the ruling party, it shall be, that instead of trying to control their opposition through undemocratic use of force and undermining civil liberties, they shall truly focus on their own propaganda tools to develop counter-narratives. So that, they could keep a soft image of their own. Although, it seems highly unlikely. Because, the ruling coalition is only inspiring the wrath and anger of the public for their inefficient handling of the economic crisis, which is although global in nature. But, feeding false information and partially palatable truth to the public is the new norm in the town. So, the public hardly has any knowledge about the devil they are facing.
What political parties must realize, is that civil liberties and democratic practices shall be the primary concern for any political party, if, this country has to override its history of authoritarian rule. And for that to happen for real, political parties must draw a boundary for the game which they play in the ultimate conquest of power. Otherwise, the state would render itself in a state of ultimate chaos, where, “might will always try to keep the “righteousness” in its own favor.
